SO NO GASOLINE TO BURN DOWN A CAR YOU SAY ABOUT THEM BATTERY POWERED CARS WELL SINCE BEING POWERED BY LITHIUM BATTERIES THAT CAN OVER HEAT–WATCH OUT IT GETS MIGHTY TOASTY INSIDE THAT BURNING BATTERY CAR THAT OBAMA LOVES TO EMBRACE AND FREELY FUND WITH HIS STIMULUS AND PENNACLE LEGISLATIONS–FIRST IT WAS THE VOLT AND NOW TESLA GOES POOF ERR NOT TO MENTION BATTERIES IN THE BOENG 787

A video that went viral of a burning Tesla electric car has emerged as a public relations nightmare for the company, analysts said Thursday, as the “green car” maker lost as much as $3 billion in market value two days after the incident in Washington state.

Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) has confirmed that the car caught fire after the driver ran over a large metallic object on Tuesday morning just south of Seattle, causing extensive damage to the front end of the Model S sedan. Emergency officials at the accident said the fire occurred in the electric vehicle’s lithium-ion battery.

It was the latest in a string of problems for lithium-ion batteries, which are used heavily in EVs sold by various automakers. However, the battery fire was the first for Tesla, the California-based EV maker founded by billionaire Elon Musk.

The fire and resulting publicity sparked a PR nightmare for a company that only makes electric cars, as opposed to mainstream automakers like General Motors Co (GM.N) that derive only a small percentage of sales from EVs, analysts said.

http://freebeacon.com/tesla-grapples-with-pr-nightmare-after-battery-fire-in-u-s/